


Responsibility

by AJWrites1998



Category: Animaniacs
Genre: Fluff, M/M, Sickfic, again whoops, but this time it's super fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:00:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,062
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29138940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AJWrites1998/pseuds/AJWrites1998
Summary: When Yakko falls ill, it's up to Max to assume the position of the third Warner sibling for the day. Yakko thinks he does a pretty good job.
Relationships: Max Goof/Yakko Warner
Comments: 9
Kudos: 88





	Responsibility

**Author's Note:**

  * For [restaurantcrayons](https://archiveofourown.org/users/restaurantcrayons/gifts).



> A special thanks to @restaurantcrayons for some of the ideas in this fic! It was really fun to write and I hope you all enjoy!!

Max pulls the thermometer out of Yakko’s mouth and winces. 

“101.2. Told ya you were sick.” he says. Yakko groans and blows his nose. The poor guy had had the beginnings of a cold the day before and that’s what had prompted Max to spend the night and keep an eye on him. Not that he’d told Yakko that, it was just that Yakko had fallen asleep on his chest rather early and, no matter how much Yakko insisted that he was “just tired” Max knew he was coming down with something. 

Now, it’s the middle of the night, and Max had woken up to the sound of Yakko coughing, so he’d decided to get a gauge of just how sick Yakko really was. 

“Yeah, yeah. You were right.” Yakko sniffles, sounding stuffed up, “What do you want as a prize?”

“How about a kiss?” Max says, helping him take some medicine and drink some water that he’d already brought to the bedside just in case.

“No, no,” Yakko protests, “I don’t want to give you my sick!” Max shakes his head. 

“It’s okay, I don’t care about that, I just want you to feel better. Besides, we’ve been sleeping in the same bed, if I’m going to get sick, the damage is probably already done.” Max says, and after a harsh sigh and some coughs, Yakko gives in. They share a kiss before Max shrinks back into bed. 

Max waits until Yakko falls asleep before he lets himself fall back asleep as well. 

An alarm goes off, but Max doesn’t really want to get up. Yakko is laying on his chest, still sleeping, and despite how warm he is, it’s very cute. He turns off the alarm and runs his fingers through the fur on Yakko’s head. Yakko stirs and lets out a soft groan. He looks up at Max with tired eyes. 

“It’s okay,” Max says, “We don’t have to get up yet.” Yakko shakes his head.

“No, I’ve gotta get Wakko to band practice and take Dot to the museum for her homework and I need to get groceries today and do some laundry…” Yakko cuts himself off by sneezing unfortunately close to Max’s face. “Sorry.” He says, embarrassment evident on his face. 

“It’s okay, you get a pass because you’re sick.” Max says.

“In that case…” Yakko says, and fakes a cough in Max’s face, but turns away as it turns real. 

“And that was karma.” Max laughs, lifting himself up and carefully helping Yakko lay back down on a pillow instead of his chest. He helps Yakko take a drink of water. “And don’t worry about all that stuff, I’ll take care of it, okay?”

“Oh, you don’t have to do all that.” Yakko says.

“I want to,” Max says, planting a kiss on his forehead. “I’ll come back and check on you later, but I’ve got my phone if you need anything, okay?” He asks. Yakko just nods in response, letting his eyes close. He’s snoring before Max even leaves the room.

Luckily for Max, Wakko and Dot are already ready for the day. Max was planning on making breakfast for them, but they’re already eating the last of some cereal as Max walks into the kitchen. Yakko was right about the need to go grocery shopping. There was barely any food available, probably due to Wakko’s fast metabolism. 

“Good morning, guys,” he says, as he picks up the grocery list Yakko had written and pockets it, turning around to face them. “Are you ready to go?”

“Where’s Yakko?” Dot asks with concern as she brings her cereal bowl to the sink.

“He’s not feeling well, so I’m gonna take you guys to your stuff today. Is that okay?” he asks. He’s not sure why he’s so nervous. Maybe because they’re his boyfriend’s siblings, and they’re important to him, and he wants to make a good impression.

“Do we get to take your motorcycle?” Dot asks, smiling sweetly.

“It’s the only vehicle I’ve got, so yeah.” 

“Then of course it’s okay!” Dot says, and Wakko nods vigorously. Max laughs. 

“Well, c’mon, then, I don’t want to make Wakko late to band practice!” Max says, making sure they put their jackets on and head out the door. 

As they go down the road, Max can tell that Wakko and Dot are having fun with it. They’re cheering excitedly and chanting at him to go faster, though he doesn’t. He figures Yakko will want his siblings back as unscathed as possible. When they pull up to the band practice, Max helps Wakko off the bike, and Wakko gives him a hug before running off. He’s honored, honestly. 

“I’ll be done in two hours!” Wakko yells as he runs inside. Max and Dot wave at him as he retreats.

“Have fun!” He calls. He turns to Dot.

“So, what do you want to do while Wakko’s at practice?” he asks. Dot’s eyes light up.

“You’re letting me choose?!” she asks, and he just nods. He wonders what they usually do while Wakko’s at practice, and if he should be scared that she’s choosing, but then she says, “Can we go to the mall?” 

“Of course!” he says, firing the engine back up and hitting the road again. 

“I never get to go shopping!” Dot yells over the roar of the wind and the engine, “Yakko says it’s too expensive and Wakko won’t ever go anywhere but the food court!” 

“Well, we’ve got two hours to go wherever you want!” He yells back at her, but he’s not sure if she can hear him. 

As soon as they park at the mall, she takes his hand and rushes inside, making him stumble to keep up. She pulls him into the first store she sees, and he watches her eyes light up. She rifles through the racks, handing Max a pile of clothes and then whisking him off to the fitting rooms to try them on. She comes out in one that she particularly likes, a pink dress with short sleeves that poofed out like a princesses, and she twirls around. 

“It’s just as cute as me!” she says, and Max grins at her. 

“If you like it that much, it’s yours!” He says, and her eyes widen.

“Really? I can have it?” she says in disbelief.

“Of course! A princess like you needs a dress like that!” he says, and she jumps into his arms and hugs him.

“Maybe I can be bought.” she says. 

She ends up wearing the dress out, even though it’s a bit of a hassle getting on the motorcycle. Nevertheless, Max makes sure she’s secure before they head off to pick Wakko up.

They pick up Wakko, who leaves practice to a chorus of “ooh”s and “ahh”s by his bandmates as they see the motorcycle. 

“So,” Max says after making sure Wakko’s safely on the motorcycle, “The museum next?” After a chorus of agreement from the siblings, he takes off.

The museum is surprisingly not busy for a weekend, but they’re not the only ones there, either. They wander around for a bit, letting Dot take notes on the things she needs and staring in awe at the bones of giant dinosaurs. Max hadn’t been to the museum in years, so he found it just as interesting as the younger Warners did. That is, until he caught Wakko eating the astronaut ice cream from the gift shop. He wasn’t mad, of course, everyone knew how much Wakko could eat, but he took it as a sign they should get some groceries before he’d eat everything at the store. 

The grocery list Yakko had written wasn’t super long, but as they went along collecting it, Wakko and Dot kept asking about adding sweets to it, which gave him an idea. Well, that and the astronaut ice cream Wakko had been eating earlier. 

“Where are we going?” Dot yells forward as they pass the exit for the water tower. 

“We’re almost there!” He yells back. 

He stops at his favorite ice cream place, parking just outside of it. 

“We’re here!” he says, dismounting and helping the younger Warners do so as well. He watches their eyes light up in amazement. 

“Did somebody die? We only get ice cream when bad stuff happens. You didn’t kill Yakko, did you?” Dot asks, pointing a finger at him accusingly, but still half joking.

“What? No! I just thought you guys might like some ice cream. And besides, didn’t you say earlier that I can buy your affection?” Max says.

Dot seems to ponder this, but Wakko’s already ordering and it doesn’t take her long to join. 

Max makes Dot hold his ice cream on the way back, because he figures if Wakko held it he wouldn’t have any ice cream to eat when they got back. He was probably right to do so, because Wakko’s done by the time they get home, and he’s also covered in chocolate ice cream. 

Which, Max decides, is a good excuse to do that laundry that Yakko said needed to be done. After they put away the groceries, he helps Wakko switch out his shirt and hat for cleaner ones, then throws some of the pile of dirty clothes into the wash. When he’s done, he finds Wakko and Dot in the kitchen, attempting to make some food with the new groceries. However, it’s already a mess, and nothing hot has even been turned on yet. He shoos them out, telling them to use this time to do anything else they might need while he cleans up and makes dinner. 

Max is no five star chef, but he can make a good boxed mac and cheese dinner. He serves it up with a couple of grilled cheese sandwiches, which Wakko and Dot seem to love. Wakko even gives him another hug, and it’s Max’s proudest accomplishment. 

He’d also made some soup for Yakko, which he brings to him when Wakko and Dot are finished eating. He’s not surprised to find Yakko still sleeping, but he is concerned. When he opens the door and lets a little bit of light in, his boyfriend starts to stir.

“Maxy?” he asks groggily, trying to sit up. Max crosses the room and helps him prop himself up. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, I just brought you some soup. How are you feeling?” Max asks. Yakko answers with a coughing fit while Max rubs his back. When it’s over, he helps him get a drink of water and take some medicine. “Yeah, that’s about what I thought.” 

“I’m dying,” Yakko says dramatically, “Tell my siblings I love them. And that Wakko owes me five bucks.”

“Why does Wakko owe you five bucks?”

“He knows why.” Yakko insists, and Max giggles. 

“I’ll tell him. But you’re not dying. Just eat some of this soup and get some rest.” 

As soon as Max finishes his sentence, he hears a crash coming from the living room. Yakko winces.

“I’d better go take care of that.” Yakko says. He tries to stand, but Max stops him.

“No, I got it. You rest,” he says, setting the soup down on the bedside table. Yakko nods, and Max watches him take a bite of soup before walking towards the door. “I love you.”

“I love you too, you sap.” Yakko replies, haphazardly throwing a pillow at him that just lands weakly on the floor. Max laughs as he leaves the room. 

In the living room, not much has changed except the couch is overturned and Dot is sitting on it, her arms crossed over her chest in anger. Max decides not to get too close, just to sit down next to her.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asks, and she takes a second before responding. 

“I can’t figure out my homework.” She says, the anger apparent in her voice. Max, ever the cool headed guy, thinks about saying there was no need to flip a couch over it, but decides against it. 

“How about we take a second to cool down and look at it together?” he asks calmly, and she ponders it again for a second before nodding again. She jumps down and Max guides her to the table where her homework sat. He got her a glass of water, which she sipped on for a minute. Before he can say anything to ask how she’s feeling, she speaks again.

“You’re really good at this, y’know.” she says, and he’s a bit taken aback.

“Good at what?” 

“The older brother stuff. Almost as good as Yakko. But don’t tell him I said that.” she says, and Max laughs. 

“Sure thing. Are you ready to tackle this?” he asks. 

As they look over her homework, he finds it’s something he actually knows about. Max has always been pretty good at knowing toon history and mechanics, probably because his dad was Goofy so he’d grown up around some of the more prominent figures of toon history. He talked to her about some of his experiences, and by the time Wakko came out to listen he was in the middle of a story about the time he and Mickey had gone fishing together. They looked at him like he was the coolest person in the world, and for the first time he felt like he was being looked up to. He’d spent his whole life being the young kid in a world of adults. It felt nice to have some responsibility for once. 

By the time he was done talking, he noticed Wakko’s eyes were drooping and Dot was yawning.

“I think it’s time for bed.” he says, and they both protest, but very sleepily. 

“But we don’t wanna go to bed! We want to hear more of your stories!” Wakko complains, and Max gets up to guide them to the bedroom. 

“Tell you what, you guys get ready for bed and I’ll tell you another one.” he says, and they eagerly comply.

He tells them one last story, about the time he went on stage with Powerline. He always found it kind of embarrassing, but Wakko and Dot seemed to love it, hanging onto his every word. When he finally finishes, he stands up to leave, telling them goodnight as he does, but both siblings jump on him and give him a hug. 

“Will we see you tomorrow?” Dot asks, and Max laughs. 

“Sure! I’m gonna stay and keep an eye on your brother, anyways.” he says, and both siblings nod happily. He puts them each back in bed before heading out to check on said older brother.

\------------------------------

Yakko wakes up to Max entering the room again. It felt like no time since Max had left, but the bedside clock noted that it was almost midnight. He couldn’t believe he’d slept all day, but he was feeling better than he had all day. His head still ached, but it was duller now, and he could breathe a bit better. He was still tired and weak, but Max brought him a cup of tea, which made his eyes turn into hearts for a brief period. Max, of course, thought it was cute. 

“How are you feeling?” Max asks, slinking into bed next to him and helping him sit up to drink his tea and take some medicine. He feels better just being held by Max.

“Better. Did the sibs give you any trouble today?” he asks, and he swears Max’s eyes light up.

“Not at all! In fact, we had a great time! I’m so glad I got to know them a little better, you really do have the best siblings! Dot and I went to the mall and I got her a new dress, which she seemed to love, then we picked Wakko up - his bandmates were really impressed with the motorcycle -” Max starts, and Yakko opens his mouth to cut him off, but Max holds up his hands, “Don’t worry, I made sure they had helmets and were safe the entire time.” Yakko relaxed a little as Max continued telling him about the day. Honestly, the more he talked, the safer Yakko felt. He’s never had someone else care about his siblings so much, especially not someone who could help him care for them. It felt like a weight lifted off his shoulders, and he felt like sitting up and kissing Max. Suddenly, he realizes Max has stopped talking, and if he wants Max to know he was listening, he should say something, anything.

“Would you want ‘em to be your siblings-in-law someday?” he asks, his voice sounding tired and weaker than usual. He doesn’t even realize what he said until it’s out of his mouth, and when it takes Max more than a few seconds to respond, he opens his eyes and looks at Max. “I’m sorry, don’t listen to me, my brain’s just all loopy from being sick, we don’t have to-”

Luckily, Max cuts him off with a kiss, and Yakko melts into it.

“No, it’s okay. I would really like that.” he says, and Yakko feels butterflies in his stomach that have nothing to do with being sick. “I’ve always wanted a sibling. I’ve never had one before, and now I’ve got two, and it just feels really nice being another big brother for them.” Yakko kisses him again at this. 

“Y’know,” Yakko says, “I really am feeling a lot better now that you’re here.” He says, blinking his eyes flirtily. 

“You’re an absolute dork.” Max says, giggling and kissing his forehead one more time. He takes the almost-empty tea mug from Yakko. “Get some sleep, okay? I’ll be right here.” 

As they fall asleep, Yakko takes a moment to think about just how lucky he is to have a boyfriend who loves his siblings so much. It had been so long since Yakko had been able to take a sick day that didn’t involve very strategic planning, and he really did feel a lot better knowing everything was taken care of. Just before he falls asleep, he wishes he had some way to repay Max.

A couple of days later, when Yakko wakes up in the middle of the night to a coughing fit that isn’t his, he realizes how he can do just that.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you guys liked it! If liked it and you want more like it, consider leaving a comment or a kudos! I would really appreciate it!


End file.
